Bop-It! Bounce – The Paddle Ball Gets A Modern Makeover

Apparently today’s kids can’t even enjoy something as simple as a rubber ball tethered to a wooden paddle with a piece of elastic. Noooo, they need some kind of interactive gimmick before the paddle ball concept seems interesting, and that’s exactly what the Bop-It! Bounce gives them.

The elastic tether is gone, though the core idea behind paddle ball is still there, namely trying to see how long you can keep bouncing a rubber ball. But thanks to 3 x AAA batteries the ‘paddle’ now talks to you, shouting out specific challenges like “how many times can you bounce the ball in 30 seconds?” or “how high can you bounce it?” And I assume it keeps track of the number of bounces for you, since asking kids to count for themselves would probably be an instant turn off. $19.99.

OhGizmo! is a frequently updated blog that focuses on covering items that will appeal to a very specific and often very passionate audience: the geek. Aside from the fare of innovative consumer electronic products, the reader can expect to find news about geek culture, absurd inventions, awe inspiring technology, and an ever growing assortment of articles that we like to think fit within our view of what we’re calling the Geek Lifestyle.